The present invention relates to a lighted fishing pole and more particularly to a pole selectively lighted to illuminate the pole or an area near its base.
Fishing is often best at dawn and dusk. In addition, night fishing has become popular in many areas. The adequacy of visibility at such times has long been a problem. For example, baiting of hooks, changing of lures, the monitoring of rod movement (principally movement of the tip of the rod) for "nibbles" or "strikes", locating and opening food and drink on the pier or in the boat, and a myriad of other tasks are difficult in the absence of adequate visibility provided by a steady, even light source with properly adjusted intensity.
Further, an illuminated pole enhances the safety of the user and those in proximity therewith, as well as being an aid in retrieval should the rod become separated from its user in the darkness.
Lighted fishing poles are well known. Early poles included those such as those disclosed in the Shoemaker U.S. Pat. No. 2,012,894, dated Aug. 27, 1935, and the Frettem U.S. Pat. No. 2,283,430, dated May 19, 1942, which provide a light source exteriorly mounted on the rod but which pose an potential impediment to casting and efficient operation of the reel.
More recently lighted poles such as disclosed in the Scott U.S. Pat. No. 2,565,633, dated Aug. 28, 1951, the Organ U.S. Pat. No. 2,579,087 dated Dec. 18, 1951, the Cote U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,676, dated May 7, 1957, and the Hrdlicka, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,437, dated Apr. 18, 1978, incorporate a light source into the handle. While helpful in disclosing rod position, the light provided by these poles has little usefulness in baiting and other tasks.
Other lighted poles such as disclosed in the George U.S. Pat. No. 2,646,640, dated July 28, 1953 and the Oldfield U.S. Pat. No. 2,805,508, dated Sept. 10, 1957, also incorporate a glowing light source in the handle but have only limited usefulness in providing rod visibility for monitoring rod movement, and the intensity of the light source in such poles is generally not selectively variable.
Finally, lighted poles such as disclosed in the Fore U.S. Pat. No. 3,017,499, dated Jan. 16, 1962, the Petersen, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,509, dated Jan. 28, 1975, the Ochs U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,059, dated May 31, 1977, and the Utsler U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,618, dated Oct. 3, 1978, provide a glowing rod and thus serve as a retrieval aid and safety alert. However, the rod glow emitted by such poles, because its intensity is not selectively controlled, has only limited usefulness in providing general illumination for baiting and other tasks. Additionally, such poles often have other complications, e.g., partial rather than complete illumination of the rod, a non-standard rod/handle connection, and impediments internal to the rod which impede transmission of light from the light source throughout the rod.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to obviate the disadvantages of generally known lighted fishing poles and to provide a novel fishing pole which selectively controls the intensity of area illumination for baiting and other tasks in addition to providing for the monitoring of rod movement, and which serves as an effective safety alert and retrieval aid, all without impairing other pole functions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a night fishing pole with a glowing rod the intensity of which may be selectively varied between area illumination and rod illumination, all without impairing simultaneous operation of the rod and reel.
These and other objects and advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims and the following detailed description of preferred embodiments read in conjunction with the appended drawings.